Mauritius: from British colony to independence

[<k>]

Mauritius: portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952.

Her first coins for Mauritius were the 1 and 2 cents coins of 1953.

Above you see the later 10 cents and quarter rupee obverses.


Eventually the whole set was issued in her name.

The reverse designs were the same as before.

The last circulation coins for her reign are dated 1978.

[<k>]

INDEPENDENCE

From Wikipedia:

At the Lancaster Conference of 1965, it became clear that Britain wanted to relieve itself of the colony of Mauritius. In 1959, Harold Macmillan had made his famous Winds of Change Speech where he acknowledged that the best option for Britain was to give complete independence to its colonies. Thus, since the late Fifties, the way was paved for independence.

Later in 1965, after the Lancaster Conference, the Chagos Archipelago was excised from the territory of Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). A general election took place on 7 August 1967, and the Labour Party and its two allies obtained the majority of seats. Mauritius adopted a new constitution and independence was proclaimed on 12 March 1968. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam became the first prime minister of an independent Mauritius, while Queen Elizabeth II remained head of state as Queen of Mauritius.

[<k>]

Flag of independent Mauritius.

The national flag of Mauritius was adopted upon independence, March 12, 1968.

It consists of four horizontal bands of equal width.

They are coloured (from top to bottom) red, blue, yellow, and green.


They stand for:

Red: representing the bloodshed at the time of slavery and colonisation.

Blue: the Indian Ocean, in the middle of which Mauritius is situated.

Yellow: the light of independence and the golden sunshine.

Green: the lush vegetation of the island.

[<k>]

Maps of Chagos / British Indian Ocean Territory.

From Wikipedia:

In 1965, three years before the independence of Mauritius, the United Kingdom split the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar and Desroches from the Seychelles to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The islands were formally established as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom on 8 November 1965. On 23 June 1976, Aldabra, Farquhar and Desroches were returned to Seychelles as a result of its attaining independence. The BIOT now comprises the Chagos Archipelago only. The UK leased the main island of the archipelago, Diego Garcia to the United States under a 50-year lease (which expires in 2016) to establish a military base.

Mauritius has repeatedly asserted that the separation of its territories is a violation of United Nations' resolutions banning the dismemberment of colonial territories before independence and claims that the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius under both Mauritian law and international law. After initially denying that the islands were inhabited, British officials forcibly expelled to mainland Mauritius approximately 2,000 Chagossians who had lived on those islands for a century. Since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia is inhabited, home to some 3,000 UK and US military and civilian contracted personnel. Chagossians have since engaged in activism to return to the archipelago, claiming that the forced expulsion and dispossession were illegal.

See: Coins of British Indian Ocean Territory.

[<k>]

NEW DESIGN SERIES OF 1987.

Mauritius issued a new series of coins in 1987. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was replaced by the portrait of national hero Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. He was the first prime minister of Mauritius and had died in 1985. At this stage the Queen was still the head of state, however, because Mauritius did not become a republic until 1992.

The new coinage consisted of copper-plated-steel 1 and 5 cents coins; nickel-plated-steel 20 cents and half rupee coins; and copper-nickel 1 and 5 rupees coins. There were now no 2 cents, 10 cents or quarter rupee coins. The loss of the scalloped 10 cents coin meant that the new coins were now all round.

The 20 cents coin was new and helped to fill the gap caused by the loss of the quarter rupee coin. Most sets with a 20 unit coin also include a 2 unit coin, so the loss of the 2 cents coin was surprising. Curiously, the new 20 cents coin was the same size and weight as the old quarter rupee coin.

The 5 cents coin was substantially reduced in size, from 28.4 mm to 20 mm in diameter. The new copper-plated steel coin weighed only 3 grams, whereas the old bronze 5 cents coin had weighed 9.7 grams. The new 5 cents coin was smaller than the old bronze 2 cents coin, which had had a diameter of 23.2 mm, so it was the loss of the 2 cents coin that allowed the 5 cents coin to be so much smaller.

The new half rupee coin retained the same size, weight and metal content as the old coin. Like the old version, the new 1 rupee coin was minted in copper-nickel, but the new coin weighed 7.45 g and had a diameter of 26.5 mm, whereas the old coin had weighed 11.7 g and had had a diameter of 29.6 mm.

A new denomination was added, namely the 5 rupees coin. Previously the 1 rupee coin had been the highest denomination. The new 1 cent coin was minted in 1987 only, so from 1988 the new series consisted only of the 5 and 20 cents, and the half rupee, 1 rupee and 5 rupees coins -- five denominations in total. By contrast, the old series had included seven denominations, namely the 1, 2, 5 and 10 cents, and the quarter, half and 1 rupee coins.

Surprisingly, Mauritius retained the old reverse designs, which dated from 1934. The new 20 cents coin was given a similarly plain reverse design to that of the 5 cents coin, and only the new 5 rupees coin was given a new attractive reverse design of a palm tree beach.

[<k>]

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (1900 - 1985) was the first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and sixth Governor General of Mauritius. He served as Chief Minister from 1961 to 1968, prime minister from 1968 until 1982 and lastly as Governor General from 1983 to 1985. He is known as the "Father of the Nation". As decolonisation swept the Third World, he led Mauritius to independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.

Ramgoolam was defeated in the 1982 general elections by the MMM-PSM coalition. He died in 1985, aged 85.

See: Wikipedia: Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.

[<k>]

Obverse of the 1 cent coin of 1987.

The 1 cent coin was made of copper-plated steel.

It weighed 2 grams and had a diameter of 17.8 mm.

It was minted in 1987 only.


The obverse design featured the late Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.

The portrait was taken from a well known photograph.

It was sculpted by Philip Nathan, a renowned English sculptor and numismatic artist.


Mr. Nathan designed several of the UK's gold and silver bullion Britannia coins.

He also designed the modern coinage of Barbados and numerous world collector coins.

[<k>]

Reverse of the 1 cent coin of 1987.

[<k>]

Reverse of the 5 cents coin of 1987.

The 5 cents coin was made of copper-plated steel.

It weighed 3 grams and had a diameter of 20 mm.

[<k>]

The 20 cents coin of 1987.

The 20 cents coin was made of nickel-plated steel.

It weighed 3 grams and had a diameter of 19 mm.

[<k>]

Obverse of the half rupee coin of 1987.

The half rupee coin was made of nickel-plated steel.

It weighed 5.83 grams and had a diameter of 23.59 mm.

[<k>]

Reverse of the half rupee coin of 1987.

The old design was retained.

[<k>]

Reverse of the 1 rupee coin of 1987.

The 1 rupee coin was made of copper-nickel.

It weighed 7.5 grams and had a diameter of 26.6 mm.


The obverse featured the portrait of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.

The reverse featured the coat of arms, as on the previous version.

[<k>]

Obverse of the 5 rupees coin.

The 5 rupees coin was made of copper-nickel.

It weighed 12.5 grams and had a diameter of 31 mm.

It was the highest denomination of the new series.

[<k>]

Reverse of the 5 rupees coin.

The reverse design of the 5 rupees coin featured palm trees on a beach.

It was designed and modelled by English artist and sculptor John Savage.